ADL issues awards at annual dinner

Eve Sullivan

Updated 8:53 pm, Friday, January 18, 2013

STAMFORD -- At the Anti-Defamation League's annual awards dinner, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the ADL has taken on issues that are "so important" while reaching across religious and cultural boundaries.

"If you think about progress, there are not many issues that this organization has not been at the forefront of," Malloy said.

Anti-bullying is one of the most important issues the ADL has recently tackled, the governor said. Bullying makes others miserable and causes mental illness, he said.

Malloy said everyone in the room believes community is more important than "any of us as an individual," but individual rights must be protected.

The Daniel R. Ginsberg Humanitarian Award Reception, which took place Thursday night at Temple Beth El on Roxbury Road, honored Rabbi David Israel, Alma Rutgers and Don Snyder. Guests mingled at a cocktail party before heading into the awards ceremony.

Israel, the rabbinic dean at the Bi-Cultural Day School in Stamford, received the Distinguished Community Leadership Award for his partnership with the ADL. His initiative holistically changes school climates by instilling values and positive behavioral changes in children.

As he accepted the award, Israel said he can't help but see all that's happening in the world. Being a person of noble character is part of his school's motto, he said.

"Be a mensch," he said. "Do the right thing."

As Joel Kaye presented Humanitarian Awards to Snyder and Rutgers, he said they are an extraordinary husband-and-wife team who've done a lot for the ADL. He said Snyder wasn't content resting on his laurels after a long, illustrious career with NBC, so he went on to work fighting against bigotry and hate.

Rutgers, who served in Greenwich town government for more than 25 years, is now a Greenwich Time columnist who is working on her memoirs and doing community service.

"They're working on bettering the human condition," Kaye said.

Rutgers took the stage with her husband by her side, saying she was going to speak for both of them. She thanked the ADL for the award and said "it's so meaningful that you should share this moment with us."

The ADL, Rutgers said, "stands for all that Don and I hold dear."

While recently writing a story about anti-Semitism in Europe, Rutgers said her husband interviewed a rabbi who was beaten in front of his 7-year-old child. She read a letter from the man who told Snyder to keep up the good work.

"That's why we're here, to keep up the good work," she said.

Gary Jones, regional director of the ADL, said the awards ceremony was supposed to take place in November, but was postponed because of Superstorm Sandy.

The ADL is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, Jones said, and has the same goals as when it started -- to stop the defamation of Jewish people and secure justice and fair treatment for all.

"If you're going to worry about any group, you have to worry about everyone," he said.

At the ceremony, three children sat on the stage and read stories about anti-Semitism and how it affects them. A moderator said the stories were not specific to these children, but represented hundreds of youths they've heard about for years.

In one story, a female student discussed how another student carved a swastika into her desktop and the pain it caused. In another, a student talked about how someone told him they're going to put his mother in an oven.

Kim Athan, regional board member, said the ADL was founded 100 years ago when a Jewish man was unjustly prosecuted and hung. She said it is not just history, it's a current event, with anti-Semitism still alive and well around the world.

Daniel Ginsberg, the award's namesake, was committed to the well being of Jewish people and never lost sight that Jews in America are bound to other Americans, according to the ADL. He understood that all Americans share a common heritage and dream -- freedom.

Karyn Ginsberg Greenwald, his wife, said it is the 18th Humanitarian Award to honor her husband since his death. Her husband was a dreamer and an activist who put his dreams into practice, and the award recipients have done the same, she said.

Jones said he is proud to honor the three recipients with the Ginsberg Award, which stands for justice. He said the ADL trains law-enforcement personnel, and 40 officers, including Stamford's Assistant Police Chief James Matheny, have attended a three-day program.

Jones said the ADL offers assistance to anyone being treated unfairly; attends demonstrations; lobbies for laws; educates leaders, teachers, students and communities; and provides education programs that have reached more than 25,000 people in Connecticut.